All the important thermal properties of rocks can be estimated from the graphs and tables in this report. Most of the useful published data are summarized herein to provide fairly accurate evaluations of thermal coefficients and parameters of rocks for many engineering and scientific purposes. Graphs of the published data on common rocks and minerals were prepared to show the relationships of thermal conductivity with decimal solidity (one minus decimal porosity), water or air pore content, content of certain highly conducting minerals, and temperature. Tables are given of pressure effect on thermal conductivity of minerals and rocks, anisotropy of conductivity, thermal expansion, heat transfer, density, heat generation in rocks, and activation energies of conduction mechanisms in single crystals of minerals. A series of graphs show the specific heats of rock-forming minerals as a function of temperature; with these graphs the specific heat of a rock can be calculated from its mode as accurately as it can be measured. Calculations of conductivity, diffusivity, and thermal inertia of a rock from its mode are described. Discussions of radiative thermal conductivity, radioactive heat generation, and heat transfer in rocks are provided.

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Thermal properties of rocks

We carried out an extensive paleointensity study of the 15.5±0.3 m.y. Miocene reversed-to-normal polarity transition recorded in lava flows from Steens Mountain (south central Oregon). One hundred eighty-five samples from the collection whose paleodirectional study is reported by Mankinen et al. (this issue) were chosen for paleointensity investigations because of their low viscosity index, high Curie point and reversibility, or near reversibility, of the strong field magnetization curve versus temperature. Application of the Thellier stepwise double heating method was very successful, yielding 157 usable paleointensity estimates corresponding to 73 distinct lava flows. After grouping successive lava flows that did not differ significantly in direction and intensity, we obtained 51 distinguishable, complete field vectors of which 10 are reversed, 28 are transitional, and 13 are normal. The record is complex, quite unlike that predicted by simple flooding or standing nondipole field models. It begins with an estimated several thousand years of reversed polarity with an average intensity of 31.5±8.5 μT, about one third lower than the expected Miocene intensity. This difference is interpreted as a long-term reduction of the dipole moment prior to the reversal. When site directions and intensities are considered, truly transitional directions and intensities appear almost at the same time at the beginning of the transition, and they disappear simultaneously at the end of the reversal. Large deviations in declination occur during this approximately 4500±1000 year transition period that are compatible with roughly similar average magnitudes of zonal and nonzonal field components at the site. The transitional intensity is generally low, with an average of 10.9±4.9 μT for directions more than 45° away from the dipole field and a minimum of about 5 μT. The root-mean-square of the three field components X, Y, and Z are of the same order of magnitude for the transitional field and the historical nondipole field at the site latitude. However, a field intensity increase to pretransitional values occurs when the field temporarily reaches normal directions, which suggests that dipolar structure could have been briefly regenerated during the transition in an aborted attempt to reestablish a stationary field. Changes in the field vector are progressive but jerky, with at least two, and possibly three, large swings at astonishingly high rates. Each of those transitional geomagnetic impulses occurs when the field intensity is low (less than 10 μT) and is followed by an interval of directional stasis during which the magnitude of the field increases greatly. For the best documented geomagnetic impulse the rapid directional change corresponds to a vectorial intensity change of 6700±2700 nT yr−1, which is about 15–50 times larger than the maximum rate of change of the nondipole field observed during the last centuries. The occurrence of geomagnetic impulses seems to support reversal models assuming an increase in the level of turbulence within the liquid core during transitions. The record closes with an estimated several thousand years of normal polarity with an average intensity of 46.7±20.1 μT, agreeing with the expected Miocene value. However, the occurrence of rather large and apparently rapid intensity fluctuations accompanied by little change in direction suggests that the newly reestablished dipole was still somewhat unstable.

The Steens Mountain (Oregon) geomagnetic polarity transition: 2. Field intensity variations and discussion of reversal models

Data on the variation of temperature with time and in space are essential to a complete understanding of the crystallization history of basaltic magma in Kilauea Iki lava lake Methods used to determine temperatures in the lake have included direct, downhole thermocouple measurements and Fe-Ti oxide geothermometry In addition, the temperature variations of MgO and CaO contents of glasses, as determined in melting experiments on appropriate Kilauean samples, have been calibrated for use as purely empirical geothermometers and are directly applicable to interstitial glasses in olivine-bearing core from Kilauea Iki The uncertainty in inferred quenching temperatures is ±8−10° C Comparison of the three methods shows that (1) oxide and glass geothermometry give results that are consistent with each other and consistent with the petrography and relative position of samples, (2) downhole thermo-couple measurements are low in all but the earliest, shallowest holes because the deeper holes never completely recover to predrilling temperatures, (3) glass geothermometry provides the greatest detail on temperature profiles in the partially molten zone, much of which is otherwise inaccessible, and (4) all three methods are necessary to construct a complete temperature profile for any given drill hole Application of glass-based geothermometry to partially molten drill core recovered in 1975–1981 reveals in great detail the variation of temperature, in both time and space, within the partially molten zone of Kilauea Iki lava lake The geothermometers developed here are also potentially applicable to glassy samples from other Kilauea lava lakes and to rapidly quenched lava samples from eruptions of Kilauea and Mauna Loa

Geothermometry of Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii

The thick sequence of Miocene lava flows exposed on Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon is well known for containing a detailed record of a reversed-to-normal geomagnetic polarity transition. Paleomagnetic samples were obtained from the sequence for a combined study of the directional and intensity variations recorded; the paleointensity study is reported in a companion paper. This effort has resulted in the first detailed history of total geomagnetic field behavior during a reversal of polarity. A comparison of the directional variation history of the reversed and normal polarity intervals on either side of the transition with the Holocene record has allowed an estimate of the duration of these periods to be made. These time estimates were then used to calculate accumulation rates for the volcanic sequence and thereby provide a means for estimating time periods within the transition itself. The polarity transition was found to consist of two phases, each with quite different characteristics. At the onset of the first phase, a one-third decrease in magnetic field intensity may have preceded the first intermediate field directions by about 600 years. Changes in field direction were confined near the local north-south vertical plane when the actual reversal in direction occurred and normal polarity directions may have been attained within 550±150 years. The end of the first phase of the transition was marked by a brief (possibly 100–300 years) period with normal polarity and a pretransitional intensity which suggests a quasi-normal dipole field structure existed during this interval. The second phase of the transition was characterized by a return to very low field intensities with the changes in direction describing a long counterclockwise loop in contrast to the earlier narrowly constrained changes. This second phase lasted 2900±300 years, and both normal directions and intensities were recovered at the same time. Both directional and intensity data document very erratic geomagnetic field behavior during the polarity transition. Changes in magnetic field direction were variable and occurred either (1) in a regular, progressive manner, (2) with sudden, extremely rapid angular changes (58°±21°/year), or (3) with little or no movement for periods of the order of 600±200 years. Changes in magnetic intensity occurred in a like manner and were sometimes correlated with changes in direction, but during other periods both directional and intensity changes occurred independently. Directional changes following the polarity transition occurred in a seemingly normal manner, although intensity fluctuations attest to some instability of the newly reestablished dipole.

The Steens Mountain (Oregon) geomagnetic polarity transition: 1. Directional history, duration of episodes, and rock magnetism

We present a thermal model to calculate the total thermal flux for lava flowing in tubes, on the surface, or under shallow water. Once defined, we use the total thermal flux to estimate effusion rates for active flows at Kilauea, Hawaii, on two dates. Input parameters were derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), field and laboratory measurements. Using these parameters we obtain effusion rates of 1.76±0.57 and 0.78±0.27 m3 s–1 on 23 July and 11 October 1991, respectively. These rates are corroborated by field measurements of 1.36±0.14 and 0.89±0.09 m3 s–1 for the same dates (Kauahikaua et al. 1996). Using weather satellite (AVHRR) data of lower spatial resolution, we obtain similar effusion rates for an additional 26 dates between the two TM-derived measurements. We assume that, although total effusion rates at the source declined over the period, the shut down of the ocean entry meant that effusion rates for the surface flows alone remained stable. Such synergetic use of remotely sensed data provides measurements that can (a) contribute to monitoring flow-field evolution, and (b) provide reliable numerical data for input into rheological and thermal models. We look forward to being able to produce estimates for effusion rates using data from high-spatial-resolution sensors in the earth observing system (EOS) era, such as Landsat 7, the hyperspectral imager, the advanced spaceborne thermal emission spectrometer, and the advanced land imager.

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Calculation of lava effusion rates from Landsat TM data

The numerical formulation of Shaw, Hamilton, and Peck (p. 384-414 of this issue) using the method of explicit cell balances was applied to the cooling of Alae lava lake, Hawaii. Temperatures in this 15-m-thick, ponded basalt flow were measured over a 4-yr period from 1 week after it formed in August 1963 at a temperature of 1140 degrees C until temperatures throughout the lake had fallen to below 100 degrees C. Representative temperature profiles in the thicker central part of the lake can be reproduced with average deviations of 21 degrees C using one-dimensional models with a lake thickness of 14.6 m, a constant diffusivity of 0.006 cm 2 /sec, a latent heat of 90 cal/g, and a heat withdrawal of 620 cal/cm2 of measured rainfall using the average measured density of basalt in the lake in the calculations. Average differences between computed and observed temperature profiles were decreased to 2 degrees C by using all the following modifications of the initial model: (1) diffusivity was allowed to vary according to the calculated increase of the heat capacity with temperature, the variations of the measured density of the lava with depth in the lake, and the variations of conductivity with temperature and lava porosity; (2) heat loss to rainwater was computed using the measured density structure of the lake; (3) the lake thickness was increased to 14.9 m, a better approximation of the deepest part of the lake, and the latent heat of the basalt was accordingly decreased; and (4), low conductivity and density values were assigned to one of the cells to simulate the highly vesicular and cavernous zones found at shallow depth in the lake. The best results were obtained using a latent heat of 80 + or - 10 cal/g (from 80 percent crystallization of the lava) and a conductivity that increased with temperature at a rate of 0.06 + or - 0.01 percent of its value at room temperature per degree C. Computations using a two-dimensional model indicate that marginal cooling decreased temperatures in the lake more than 1 degrees C only in the outer 15 m of the lake until a year after the eruption and only in the outer 45 m during the final year of cooling. The values for latent heat and conductivity derived from the thermal modeling are in good agreement with values determined directly in the laboratory and calculated from laboratory data.

D. L. Peck

Papers

Numerical analysis of lava lake cooling models; Part II, Application to Alae lava lake, Hawaii